Too big of a cuc?
- Thread starter Cjtabares
- Start date
ChrisPchef
Well-Known Member
I’ll try and provide some insight as no one has responded..The old rule of thumb was 1 snail per 1 gallon. However a lot of people will say that was a number made up by fish stores to sell more product. In my honest opinion what you have listed does seem a bit excessive.
I’ve never owned any sea urchins but they are supposed to be a great addition to any CUC. I would assume they do the job of multiple snails when eating.
My tank is a bit smaller than yours at 32 gallons and every tank is different. That being said I feed pretty heavily. I only have 1 Nassarious, 1 fighting Conch, a small blue legged hermit crab and 2 Astrea snails. I have a healthy population of bristle worms. As well as some Asterina starfish. Between a daily glass cleaning with a mag float and a weekly water change everything is kept squeaky clean.
I know Asterina starfish are heavily debated in the hobby. There are said to be 32 different varieties of Asterina. The ones I have do not eat my corals and seem to be a great addition to CUC.
I was mislead some years ago saying they should be eradicated..after having gotten rid of all of them I began to miss the lil guys. I asked my roommate if I could take some of his to reseed the tank and have never experienced any issues. After 4 years of keeping the Asterina without issue I’m going to go ahead and say this variety does not eat corals.
I’ve never owned any sea urchins but they are supposed to be a great addition to any CUC. I would assume they do the job of multiple snails when eating.
My tank is a bit smaller than yours at 32 gallons and every tank is different. That being said I feed pretty heavily. I only have 1 Nassarious, 1 fighting Conch, a small blue legged hermit crab and 2 Astrea snails. I have a healthy population of bristle worms. As well as some Asterina starfish. Between a daily glass cleaning with a mag float and a weekly water change everything is kept squeaky clean.
I know Asterina starfish are heavily debated in the hobby. There are said to be 32 different varieties of Asterina. The ones I have do not eat my corals and seem to be a great addition to CUC.
I was mislead some years ago saying they should be eradicated..after having gotten rid of all of them I began to miss the lil guys. I asked my roommate if I could take some of his to reseed the tank and have never experienced any issues. After 4 years of keeping the Asterina without issue I’m going to go ahead and say this variety does not eat corals.
OP
OP
Cjtabares
PBITAWA
Thanks, I based it on a cuc list on a website for my tank size. I also like to feed heavy, but I only have 2 close, and an orange spotted goby. I feed 2x a day, might feed more to keep the cuc alive.
ChrisPchef
Well-Known Member
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
OP
OP
Cjtabares
PBITAWA
Thanks, will do.
Chrisnnemo
Non-member
I wouldn’t sweat it to much, it’ll be fine. I think every tank has a different balance depending on a lot of factors especially how often one feeds. 1 for every gallon has always seemed like a lot to me, one cuc member for every 2gl seems better of a balance. I have about 6-12 blue legged hermits, 2 turbos, 1 tiger conch, 2 peppermint shrimp and a tiger pistol shrimp in a 45 gl display. I feed my 2 clownfish every other day just about, sometimes 3x’s a week. I do catch my tiger conch climbing the glass so i think what I have in there for cuc is sufficient assuming he’s hungry enough to climb for a meal. I do miss the nassarius snails during feeding time though, time to get more nassarius now that I think of it. The way they rise outta the sand bed when feeding tank I’ve always loved watching
